Hearing Protection Training Kit - Instructor's Guide

Purpose of this training module

The purpose of this
module is to help you comply with the training
requirements of the DOSH Hearing Loss Prevention (Noise) regulations
(WAC 296-817). You can read
the training requirements in the rule at the end of this guide.

The topics covered in this module are those required in the rule. However,
you may use different materials that cover these topics if you believe
that they will be more effective.

Getting Ready

1. Resources and Materials you
will need:

A quiet room with basic accommodations for comfort of participants.

A copy of the presentation (computer slide show, overheads, or handouts).

Overhead projector or computer and projector for PowerPoint presentation.

Copies of the handouts (optional).

Hearing protection used at your worksite (recommended).

Certificates to hand out to the class as proof of attendance (optional).

A training roster to pass around for your records (recommended).

2. Review the presentation materials.

Take the time to look through
each of the slides and read the instructor's notes that come with each
slide. If you have any questions after looking through these materials,
you can contact
your local L&I office (see page 3) for assistance
before you give your first presentation.

3. Customizing the presentation.

The information contained in this module applies to all workplaces.
However, you are also required to include information about conditions
that exist at your workplace. Several slides indicate where workplace-specific information should be included. Just using the training module
without the workplace-specific information will not satisfy all training
requirements.

If you have PowerPoint on your computer, additional information
is easily added to the PowerPoint version after downloading. The
PowerPoint version can be modified, but modification that changes
the essential meaning or deletes information may not meet the training
requirements.

If you use the PDF version, the slides cannot be changed, but
you can provide the workplace specific information orally, on overhead
transparencies or as paper handouts.

4. Prepare the materials and schedule
the class

If you have a laptop computer and projector, all you need to do is
check to make sure the presentation works and make copies of the handouts.

If you plan to use an overhead projector, print the slides out on
transparencies. The PDF version will print quicker and use less printer
memory. The slides will be clearer if they are printed in color. If you
don't have a color printer, your local print or copy store can print
out color transparencies for you.

Schedule the class for a date and time convenient to most people. If
you want many employees and supervisors to participate, try not to make
groups larger then 15 attendees.

Presenting the Training

Give the presentation

You can use your own words
rather than just reading from the script. You can also make three-slide-per-page
handouts of the training.

Ask for participation

It also helps to involve the
audience as much as possible by asking them questions and getting them
to talk about their own jobs, noise levels, their hearing protection,
and any suggestions they may have on how to reduce noise levels.

Questions and answers

Answer any questions the best
that you can. Even if you don't have the technical knowledge to answer
a lot of questions on noise, you can still answer the important questions
about the way that your company is addressing employee noise exposure.
If any questions on noise, hearing protection, or audiometric testing
are asked that you need help answering, you can contact your local L&I
office listed on the following page.

Follow-up

Within a week or two of giving
the training, you might want to take a few minutes to talk to some of
the employees and supervisors to make sure they understood what was
presented and how it applies to them.

Getting help

If you have questions while
preparing to give this presentation, or if questions come up during
the presentation that you need help in answering, contact your local
L&I office listed below for assistance: